An Unspoken Attraction
by Mrs-N-Uzumaki
Summary: When Masaya studies abroad, Ichigo becomes very lonesome. Thus, she starts talking to Ryou, and so, unexpected feelings begin to build. When Masaya comes to visit, Ichigo must make a choice! But that's the least of her worries as things become much worst.
1. The one with the Nightmare

I've been into Tokyo Mew Mew, and here and then, I feel I should write a story of my fav couple in this series. For those who haven't seen this show (my author alert fans), I say give it a go and come back when you're ready to read :)

And as for the rest, please enjoy and review at the end ;)

P.S This is set after episode 36, where everyone knows of Ryou's past. Also, I think I might end up making this a Ryou blue knight thing.

--

_Thoughts_

"Speeches"

"_Whispers_"

_Flashback:_

Summary: When Masaya studies abroad, Ichigo becomes very lonesome. Thus, she starts talking to Ryou, and so, unexpected feelings begin to build. When Masaya comes to visit, Ichigo must make a choice! But that's the least of her worries as things become much worst...

_That chimera...it's come back_. What's Ryou going to do now? Will he let the same thing happen? Will the mew mews have to suffer the same fate? Or will he let his vendetta darken his mind? He knows one thing for certain, he must protect his loved ones, even at the cost of his own life...IchiRyou

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew...yet (lol jk!)

* * *

_An Unspoken Attraction_

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**Chapter 1: **The one with the nightmare

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"_Mum! Dad!" He screamed his heart out__ as his eyes confronted the worst predicament. He felt his heart pounding heavily against his chest. His world was turning upside down. "I have to do something! I have to save them!" He tried to drag his feet but it was no good._

"_Ryou no!" Keiichiro grabbed him tight to prevent Ryou of doing something he'll regret, "It's too late…"_

_Ryou watched in fear as his home and his family in it burnt to a crisp. How could this happen…? Why did it have to be like this?_

_And then he saw it…that chimera that caused this incident.__ The little blond stared deep into the chimera's eyes and could feel the evil chilling his spine…he can't give into it, don't let it get near you…no! It's going to attack…!_

"Gah!" Ryou lifted abruptly from his bed and breathed heavily, _not again..._

"Ryou," he heard knocks from his door, "it's almost time to open the café," he heard Keiichiro's voice.

_Great...I'm not in the mood to deal with anyone today, _Ryou rose out of bed, intending on taking a shower. He paused for a second as his eyes rolled to a familiar photograph. The blond teen sighed, _I can't believe it's been this long..._

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"She's late again," Mint stated as she sipped her morning tea.

"Mm hm, she's gonna get it now," Pudding spoke in agreement.

The four mew mews awaited for their last teammate to show to up for work. It was like this everyday, only on rare occasions she would show up early, but that's if she wanted to have another go at Ryou. Whether it was about a raise, a holiday or a demand for respect.

Keiichiro entered the room, "Time for another hard day of work," he smiled as he paced towards the door. At that moment, the entrance abruptly slammed open and entered a fast-breathing, messy looking Ichigo.

"I -breathe- made it -breathe- finally!"

"Ahh, Ichigo, you've made it just barely," the baker spoke, "go on ahead and change."

Footsteps were heard from the staircase as everyone watched Ryou making his way towards the kitchen. They all awaited yet for another argument between the two most _loving _pair. Ryou turned his head to catch a glimpse of a fatigued Ichigo, though said nothing. The mew leader stared back only to say nothing but walk towards the changing rooms.

"_Is it just me_," Pudding whispered to Lettuce, "_or is the atmosphere even more tense than usual, even though they're saying nothing to each other._.."

"_You're right_, The green-head replied. Once both were out of sight, everyone became silent.

"Alrighty then," Akasaka broke the heavy silence, "our costumers are arriving."

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"Check please!"

"I'm coming!"

"Where's my chocolate fudge order?"

"I'll bring it in a sec!"

"Hello! This is not what I ordered!"

"Apologies, I'll bring the right order!"

_Gah! Why are the costumers whinier than usual! _Ichigo placed herself onto a chair for a few second break,_ Work is twice as hard and I'm again doing the work around here! _She turned to Mint, "I hope your enjoying that tea your highness...!"

"Very much thank you," Mint smugly replied, "Hurry up Ichigo, our costumers are awaiting,"

"And I would appreciate it if you helped me," the red-head inwardly held her anger,

"Sorry can't, I'm on my tea break. But knock yourself out though,"

"MINTO-!"

_Crash_

Pieces of glass were all over the floors as Lettuce clumsily dropped five plates, "Oh no!" The green-head panicked, "I'm sorry Keiichiro! I will clean it up now,"

_Why do I keep reiterating this day of workload? _Ichigo sighed, _I deserve better! And I demand a raise! Where is that brute-headed blond anyway? Well I'm going to find him and oof--!!_

"Ryou!" Ichigo spoke as she bumped to just the person she needed, "We need to have a chat!" The others rolled their eyes as they prepared for another money drama.

_Oh great_, Ryou thought, _I really cannot be asked to deal with anyone today, especially with the loud-mouth annoyance_, "No we don't actually; you know why?" Ichigo blinked, "Because everyday you ask me the same question, and everyday I'll give you the same answer,"

"But why won't you just give me a raise?! I know I do the most work around here!" Ichigo moaned,

"Well then you really shouldn't be wasting your time talking to me when you should be serving the costumers," Ryou turned to make his way towards the stairs.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Ryou Shirogane! I will not be ignored when I'm speaking," She hastily paced towards the blond and halt until they were face to face.

"Step aside, strawberry," she was really testing his patience.

"No I will not, until I get a raise and some respect!" She replied aggressively.

"Step aside, now," he was practically seething his teeth now.

"And what if I don't?" she challenged him.

"If you don't move," Ryou began, "I won't pay you a single penny for a month."

Ichigo paused, she had no choice this time. She stepped aside as the blond teen continued moving, "_This is not over_." She whispered as he passed by.

"Whoa," Pudding spoke, "is it me, or is Ryou crabbier than usual?" Everyone nodded. The two sure made a scene today.

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The café finally came to an end for the day, allowing everyone to leave. Everyone except Ichigo because she had cleaning duties today. _This day just gets better and better..._The red-head thought with irritation, _if I come across that cruel bastard one more time, I swear I'll-_

"It happened again," Ichigo heard her boss's voice coming from the kitchen. She quietly walked towards the voice and patiently listened to Ryou having a conversation with Keiichiro.

"That dream..." he continued.

Keiichiro stared at Ryou, " You mean the one with-?"

"Yeah..."

_Huh? What dream? _Ichigo wondered curiously, _is that why he was acting so strange today?_

"That's the fourth time this week," Keiichiro stated,

"And the sixteenth time this month," Ryou continued, "Why is it happening again?"

"You haven't had nightmares like that since the first few weeks after the incident,"

"I know," the blond placed his elbows on the table and slid his hands through his locks, "Does it mean something?"

"Who knows? Maybe?"

There was a minute of silence as the atmosphere let out tension in the air. Ichigo continued listening closely to the conversation, _I wonder what incident they're referring to?_

"What're you gonna do now?" Keiichiro broke the silence.

Ryou thought for a second, "I don't know, but I sure don't want to wake up in cold sweat again." He stood up and made his way out of the kitchen.

_Oh no! _Ichigo silently panicked, _he's coming this way! Better move quick!_

Ryou paced the café grounds while deep in thought, but then came across the sound of humming. He turned his head to glance at Ichigo who was sweeping the messy floors.

Ryou sighed, "You still here?"

"Yeah, I have cleaning duties remember?" she replied without turning her head from the broom, "The ones _you_ decided to push me for more labour, which proves I do a lot more work than you give me credit for."

Ryou continued to speak, "I'm sorry,"

Ichigo paused and slowly turned to face her boss, "What?" she audibly spoke.

"I guess I was being..." he struggled with his words, "too harsh today. There was no excuse for my demeanor and it was uncalled for,"

Ichigo was speechless, to say the least! "Uhh....it's fine...I guess."

"Go home." Ryou finally spoke,

"But what about this mess?"

"Leave it to me," the blond teen grabbed the broom, "You deserve a little break."

Was it in Ichigo's imagination or did she just see a faint smile on her cruel boss's face? "Um...thank you?"

"You should be, strawberry. Now go change, it's getting late,"

Ichigo nodded and made her way towards the changing rooms.

Ryou watched Ichigo smile in gratitude, "_Heh._"

Finally, the red-head was prepared to go home and was she ever thankful for once to her boss for not keeping her too long. She lifted her wrist to read the time, _whoa! Was it that late? I guess I was in the changing room shower longer than I thought..._

"You girls sure take your time when changing," Ichigo turned to the voice, to find none other than Ryou standing near the café doors.

"You finished cleaning?" the strawberry spoke, "Why are you standing here?"

"What does it look like? I'm waiting for you to hurry up,"

"But why?"

"Have you checked the time yet? It's almost eleven PM and you think you can walk the streets at this hour?"

"I can handle myself thank you very much,"

"Too bad I don't agree. C'mon, I phoned your parents to let them know your arriving soon."

Ryou just kept surprising her today, what was with the nice guy act? They both continued walking down the silent streets, "A-ano Shirogane?"

"Hm?" he responded,

"What's with you today?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, at first your like _'pick up the slack, strawberry'_ and then your like _'give yourself a break',_"

"This is just a way of making up to my crude behaviour is all," Ryou simply replied.

"Oh," she began chuckling, "wish you were like this all the time, then _maybe_ I would actually enjoy having you as a boss,"

Ryou's face was expressionless, "Don't count on it. This doesn't mean I'll start going easy on everyone because I know you'll start slacking off,"

"Hmph," _there goes his good side..._"Here we are," Ichigo began scratching her now-faintly-pink cheeks with her index finger, "Um...thanks for walking me home..."

"It was no problem." Ryou began walking back to the café, "'Night Strawberry." He waved as his back faced Ichigo.

Ichigo smiled in gratitude, _Night Ryou, hope I'll meet this side of you again._

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_-_

**TBC**

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Good God! This was by far the longest chapter I've ever written for a fanfiction!

Anyways, it's getting very late here and I should end it there. **This is a fic where they both start falling for each other soon; not one where he is in love with her secretly but wouldn't tell her. That stuff just ruins the whole concept of them falling for each other romantically.**

Well, I thank you for reading my story and I request a favour of reviewing in return!

So PLEASE REVIEW!

With much love,

Mrs-N-Uzumaki xxx


	2. The one with the melodrama

Hey ho pplz! Thanks for the reviews everyone! Love ya' all!

Well, I have nothing else to say except to simply enjoy your time reading this :)

**OOOOH! GREAT NEWS! READ MY ANs AFTER THE CHAPTER!**

--

_Thoughts_

"Speeches"

"_Whispers_"

_Flashback:_

Summary: When Masaya studies abroad, Ichigo becomes very lonesome. Thus, she starts talking to Ryou, and so, unexpected feelings begin to build. When Masaya comes to visit, Ichigo must make a choice! But that's the least of her worries as things become much worst

_That chimera...it's come back_. What's Ryou going to do now? Will he let the same thing happen? Will the mew mews have to suffer the same fate? Or will he let his vendetta darken his mind? He knows one thing for certain, he must protect his loved ones, even at the cost of his own life...IchiRyou

Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Mew Mew...yet (lol jk!)

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**Chapter 2: **The one with the melodrama

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Previously on _Unspoken Attraction_:

"Hmph," _there goes his good side..._"Here we are," Ichigo began scratching her now-faintly-pink cheeks with her index finger, "Um...thanks for walking me home..."

"It was no problem." Ryou began walking back to the café, "'Night Strawberry." He waved as his back faced Ichigo.

Ichigo smiled in gratitude, _Night Ryou, hope I'll meet this side of you again._

-- -- --

_Ring! Ring!_

Ichigo tiredly tossed to her sides repeatedly as an irritating noise buzzed in her ears. She placed her hands on the off switch, _just five more minutes, _she thought as she drifted back to sleep...

"_Ichigo..._"

_Hm?_

"_Ichigo..._"

_Who's calling me?_

"Don't you have work today?"

"Hai..." the red-head groggily spoke, "But just five more minutes..."

"What time do you start work today?"

"About nine..."

"But honey, it's already 9:30,"

Ichigo's eyes immediately widened, "WHAT?!" Mrs Momomiya was taken aback, "It's already been half an hour?!"

"Make sure you eat breakfast before you leave, dear," her mum spoke as she left the room.

_Why doesn't anybody ever warn me in this house? Don't they know I have work and a cruel boss to deal with because I'm late?! _Ichigo grabbed any form of clothes while incoherently mumbling about how everything is against her. She hurried down the stairs but clumsily tripped and rolled her way down.

"Good grief, Ichigo!" Her mother spoke, "Are you okay?"

"No time to stop, gotta hurry to work!" She hurried to the front door,

"But what about-" The front door slammed, "...breakfast?" Ichigo's mum made her way to the kitchen and she watched her husband reading a newspaper.

"That girl needs to sort out her priorities," he spoke.

"I'm getting a bit worried about her," the mother said, "she's been so tired ever since she started working at that café,"

"Mm hm," the husband didn't turn his eyes from the newspaper,

"I mean she always wakes up late,"

"Mm hm,"

"And she comes home late every now and then,"

"Mm hm,"

She thought for a second, "Maybe it's because she spends time with her handsome, young boss,"

His ears perked up, "A BOY?! I will not allow her heart to be taken by a delinquent!" he yelled,

"Calm down, dear, it was only a thought." she lifted her index finger, gesturing a correction, "And besides, he's not a delinquent dear, he's a wealthy restaurant owner."

"Gah!" he gasped, "Young?! Handsome?! AND wealthy?! It's worst than I thought! She will be pulled in by his charms, and next thing you know, she'll be...she'll be..." his face darkened, "Pulled into his _schemes._"

The wife sighed, _he's overreacting again..._

"I will have to speak with this boss of hers immediately!"

_This...can't be good..._

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"I'M HERE! I'M HERE! I'M HERE!" Ichigo hurried towards the changing rooms. The mew mews turned to face a heavy breathing Ichigo.

"Don't worry, Ichigo." Lettuce smiled, "You did have cleaning duties after all, I'm sure he'll understand why you're late today,"

_I'm sooooo dead_, the mew leader hopelessly sighed, _suck it in Ichigo! You can face him! And who knows? You might get lucky today and deal with his good side._

Mint entered the room, "Hurry it up Ichigo, it's really busy today." The red-head gave her a death glare.

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_Alright_, she thought, _let's get out there and show him your effort and hopefully he wouldn't have a go at you. _Ichigo paced down the halls and entered the kitchen. Though with her luck, Ryou was standing there reluctantly cleaning the dishes.

He paused and turned to her, "This is why you don't get a raise."

She wanted to give a comeback, but this time, she really didn't have any excuses. _Who am I kidding? It was my fault I was in that stupid shower room too long._

"But she was cleaning late last night," Pudding stuck up for her, "you can understand that, right boss?"

Ryou blinked. Ichigo smiled nervously, "Actually Pudding-"

"She's right," the blond teen interjected, "I'll let it go this time."

_Huh? _The red-head thought, _maybe my luck is changing after all. But still, he knows it was my fault for staying too long..._

"See Ichigo?" Pudding grinned, "He can be reasonable, nanoda!" With that, she left the kitchen.

Momomiya turned to Shirogane, "Why did you just...?"

"Didn't wanna tell 'em I let you go early," he replied as he dried his hands with a towel, "that'll make me look too soft. Next thing you know, they'll start coming up to me demanding easy work hours."

Ichigo twitched, _shoulda known_.

"Now stop slacking off and get too work!"

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In about an hour the café will be empty and everyone will head home. _Just a few more minutes_, Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, _there are still costumers here but they will be leaving soon. No cleaning duties today! _She smiled and giggled as she dreamt of going home early and phoning up her boyfriend; though unfortunately, knowing very little of what is to become of them. _Masaya,_ she sang, _Masaya, wait for me!_

"Ichigo's dreaming again, nanoda," Pudding stared at the bundle of joy.

Minto gazed at the happy Strawberry, "What a love bird, a insane one that is,"

Lettuce stood next to the little blonde, "She better get her act together before-"

"Oi Casanov_ia,_" the red-head halt and stared at a mad Ryou, "Stop daydreaming and finish your job."

_Great_, Ichigo thought, _the evil vermon is back; well I'm not gonna let him spoil my soon-to-be perfect day with Masaya. _She ignored the crude blond and continued with her mopping, though not as cheerful this time.

"By the way, girls," Ryou continued, "you're going to have to prosprone your day off tomorow. We have work to do here."

"WHAT?!" They all screamed.

Keiichiro entered the room, "I very much apologize about this ladies."

Ichigo was furious now, _first that Shirogane nags me everyday, then he cuts my pays for talking back and now he's cancelling our once-in-a-year day off?! This day couldn't get any worst!_

The Strawberry mew then heard her phone ring, _hm? Mum?_

"Ichigo, I need to warn you about something," Her mother spoke,

"What's up? What's wrong?" the red-head asked worriedly, _was there an attack?_

"It's your father. He's-"

"IIIICHHHHIIIIIGGOOOO!!" The mew mews turned to the voice of the loud name being called. They faced the doors while they slam open and enter an infuriated father.

The red-head almost choked, "D-d-dad?!"

"_That's _your father?" Mint raised her eyebrows and smiled smugly, "can't say I'm surprised, he resembles you very much." Ichigo chose to ignore that and waited for her father to sprint towards her.

"D-dad?" Ichigo began as she watched him breathe heavily, "W-what in the world are you doing here?"

"I -breathe- need -breathe- to talk -breathe-," he replied as he now lifted his back, "to _him_,"

"Him who?"

"This young, wealthy, handsome boss of yours!"

"Wha?!" her eyes are now widened as plates, "What possible business on earth do you have with _him_?"

"Ichigo," she looked up at Ryou, "get him a chair, looks like he made quite a brutal journey here,"

"Right."

"Aha!" the father abruptly spoke, "Those _charms,_"

"Dad, what are you talking about?"

"Haha! I will not be fooled!" By now, the whole café stared at Ichigo's father to see what the hoax was all about, "It's time we have a chat...Ryou Shirogane!"

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**TBC**

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Overprotective dads are annoying (you girls would know) but still hilarious to write about :)

Though what's going through his mind? What is he gonna say to Ryou? Stay tuned for the next chapter!

REVIEW PLEASE!!! At least 5 reviews a chapter before an update :)

Much appreciation,

Mrs-N-Uzumaki xxx

**OH!** I almost forgot about the great news! Well here it is, this story will turn into...DUN-DUDU-DUUUUUUUN! **A DOUJINSHI!** WOOT! WOOT! Thanks to one of my most talented manga-artist friends, Katy, I shall transformed this fanfiction to life! Once we get the first chapter done, we shall post it on Deviantart, and I will give you the link during my updates :) **_THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO YOU KATY!_**

**P.S** If your one of those who are too lazy to write a one-shot between Ryou and Ichigo or have a great idea for a one-shot for my fanfic, please don't hesitate to share and I'll write it, giving of course all credits to you! You will be awareded with a dedication of the chapter you came up with!


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